Golden, CO…In an era when religious denominations are splitting into
smaller and smaller sects, one just reunited after being split since
1954. Science of Mind®, also known as Religious Science, founded in the
1920s by philosopher Ernest Holmes, functioned as two competing
organizations for more than 50 years. This week, delegates at their
joint annual conference in San Diego approved reunification, called
“integration,” with 98% of the vote.
In preparation for their integration, the two organizations,
originally called Religious Science International and United Church of
Religious Science, changed their names to International Centers for
Spiritual Living and United Centers for Spiritual Living, respectively.
Now that the merger is official, the new organization will be known
simply as Centers for Spiritual Living.
“We are a philosophy that teaches unity, so it is time
for us to walk our talk,” says Rev. Dr. Kathy Hearn, Community Spiritual
Leader for United Centers for Spiritual Living. “Our founder, Ernest
Holmes, always believed the movement would come back together at some
point, and the time is now.”
“The time has finally come for our organizations to come
back together,” echoes Rev. Dr.
Kenn Gordon, President of International Centers for Spiritual Living. “We simply cannot go on teaching unity while remaining split.”
Kenn Gordon, President of International Centers for Spiritual Living. “We simply cannot go on teaching unity while remaining split.”
The merger has been in process for eight years,
intensifying over the last three years, and using a shared leadership
model that included almost 400 volunteers working to create “modules”
that reflect the functional departments of the new organization. These
modules became the basis for the new corporate documents that were
overwhelmingly accepted this week.
Science of Mind is part of the New Thought Movement, started in the
mid-1800s by Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and continued
into the twentieth century with the teaching of Emmett Fox, Napoleon
Hill, Emma Curtis Hopkins, and Holmes. The cornerstone of New Thought
is a teaching of unity, yet despite this, two factions of Science of
Mind broke apart in the 1950s over organizational differences. “We have
the opportunity here to heal the wounds of the past,” says Gordon.
-
During Ernest Holmes’ life and ministry in Los Angeles,
celebrities such as Cary Grant, Peggy Lee, and Doris Day followed his
teaching. More recently, Science of Mind has influenced such luminaries
in the field of self development as Wayne Dyer, Jack Canfield, Oprah
Winfrey, Michael Beckwith, and Marianne Williamson.
The integrated movement has over 400 spiritual centers in 29
countries, and publishes two inspirational monthly magazines with a
combined readership of 100,000.
“We have a big vision for providing spiritual tools and
transforming personal lives,” says Hearn. “We realize that our
influence is much more powerful now that we’ve integrated than it has
been on our own.”
Gordon adds, “I know Ernest Holmes would be proud today.”
For more information about Centers for Spiritual Living, or to find a center, you can visit either www.unitedcentersforspiritualliving.org or www.intcsl.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment